Broody guinea - when to take eggs away?

[dudefromtampa]

Even though I've had my guineas for about a year now, I have to admit, I learn something new about them each day.

I was under the impression they would not go broody in the pen, choosing instead to do so at a hidden location if allowed to free-range. Well, I let mine (I have seven) free range 2-3 hours each day, and each day they come back, just like good little soldiers. Here it is July now, and one of the guineas has decided to sit on the eggs. This has been going on for about two weeks now and I've never seen the broody hen get up once. Getting to the meat of my dilemma, I'm not sure if I should be removing at least some of these eggs. I know for fact that they lay between 3 and 5 eggs a day, so I'm estimating that there must be at least 30 something eggs under this hen. My wife and I don't want to raise this many guinea, nor do we plan on going into the guinea selling business. Should I be removing these eggs, or at least some of them? I'm just not sure how the guineas will react. Especially the one that has been so dedicated in protecting them.

Another weird fact, I think, with this flock, is that only one of these seven guineas is white. The rest are pied. This white guinea is a hen and she is the 'leader' of the flock. I thought this kind of strange in that in my limited experience with fowl, I've only seen roosters in this role.

Thanks much for any input on this.

Joe

 

[Percheron chick]

I would not touch her. You don't want her to abandon the nest. Not all the hens are going to lay in the same nest so unless you catch her off the nest, you don't really have a clue to how many she is sitting on. The other hens are still laying somewhere. Unless you have a dog that cleans out the nests outside, there is another stash'. (my dog has barely been eating the past few weeks and I have no clue where mine lay right now as they move around as soon as I figure out where the nest is I'm sure he's figured it out.) They do generally like to accumulate quite a few eggs but that's probably not the case here. Not all the eggs are going to be viable, not all eggs will develop properly, not all eggs will hatch, not all keets will survive so even if she is sitting on 20 eggs, you might end up with 10. If she's a good momma, let her raise them but have a brooder set up ready to go just in case. Don't worry about extras. Put them on CL for $5 each and they will be gone.

 

[malinois]

I have Guineas similar in age. Someone started a nest in the coop and so I was pleased. I let them keep the eggs up to about 7, (dated them with a sharpie) and then after 7 started taking the extras everyday. The first time I did this in the month of June, none of the eggs hatched so at 35 days I disposed of them. This month I tried it again. I left 6 eggs, pulled the rest, and one lone keet hatched last night, at 30 days. I only have 1 male with 6 hens-I do not know if he is/will mate with all the hens? Once the second month batch was started to be setting on, 5 of the hens started taking turns sitting on the nest. I have only been collecting 1, or maybe 2 eggs a day for this last month. So I am guessing that once they start sitting, they go 'broody' and won't lay anymore eggs?
That's been my experience so far. The lone keet survived the night in the house in the brooder, but its not walking yet?
And then I will have a whole bunch of questions on how, and when to integrate it back into the flock if it survives.
Love these birds, learn something new every day

 

[dudefromtampa]

Thank you Percheron. I envy you being in Colorado. I think I'll try to nudge her to the side today and see just how many eggs there are under her and then perhaps, take your advice of leaving her alone after that. I honestly don't think they are laying eggs anywhere else though. I know most guinea owners say this happens, but from the number of eggs I find each day in the A-frame they live in, and the number of guinea there are, I just don't see how they could be producing any more eggs. Doesn't seem possible.

 

[dudefromtampa]

Thank you malinois. My wife suggested something similar to that - (marking eggs with the sharpie). As soon as things slow down today, I'm going to go out there and and try to get under the hen that is broody and do see how many eggs are there. If there are more than a couple dozen, I may just leave well alone.

Before this hen got broody, I took two of the batch of guinea eggs and put them under a broody Orpington hen we have. They both hatched out just a couple days ago. It's so funny watching a her. Such a protective mother. I'm a tad perplexed in how to handle this one once the chicks become keets.